Monday, 8 October 2012

Cowboy Song

Today’s state the obvious pearl of wisdom I
have to share is the overwhelming importance of working with tradesmen, sorry
trades people, you trust. This, I realize, is not a groundbreaking revelation
but it was a lesson that was hit home to me this week, when I say hit, I mean
literally smacked square on the jaw.

I shall spare you the, somewhat dull, details
but needless to say, the making or breaking or a project (and your sanity) can
live or die through working with skilled, experienced, trustworthy and most
importantly RELIABLE builders, plumbers, electricians etc. These people will basically
live in your home for lengthy periods of time. Not only will they help
themselves to your milk (all your milk) and use your loo (best not to think
about that one too much), they literally hold the project, your baby, in the
palm of their hands. Now you wouldn’t let just any old fool near your baby now
do you?

So ask for recommendations, do your
research well, if in doubt do not, I repeat do NOT take a gamble, it isn’t
worth the pain of ‘ When good builders go bad’. Because they can, they do, and
God forbid you find yourself wanting to be on that TV show with that irritating
bald presenter. When you do find that special someone, the one that ticks all
the boxes - you know, turns up when they say they will, doesn’t rip you off, knows
how to use a hammer; hang on to them, treat them well, cherish them. These, my
friends, are the people that hold the key to your renovation happiness and they
are worth their weight in coffee.

In other news, all is progressing well with
project loft space. Destruction phase complete we are now moving into build
with the stud walling going up to create the new bedroom and the old kitchen
space being patched up and plastered.

This project offers a fantastic example of
how good interior design must by sympathetic to the building in which it is
housed. The scheme for this space was all about minimal, simple, industrial. I
can’t lie, even I, a big fan of industrial, had my reservations, about the level
of austerity, but I was wrong.

The simple act of applying a coat of paint
is really bringing the place to life, that paint is white, pure, brilliant
white, you can’t get much more simple than that. But oh how it works, and the
reason it works? The light. With double height ceilings and huge windows, even
on a grey autumn day, there is an abundance of natural light flooding the space
and bouncing off the walls. For white to really work, this is what it needs,
light… lots of beautiful natural light. If you live in a dark space, no amount
of white paint is going to change that fact; the white will simply look full
and washed out. If you live in a bright, open space… the whiteness will shine.

There is nothing more satisfying than
watching a project start to take shape, the old space being injected with a new
lease of life and emerging as it’s new improved self. As we move from first fit
into kitchen installation phase we can really start to see what the loft is
going to become and by jingo it’s exciting (well it is to me!).